The movie, Spotlight, is a film about shedding light on some of America’s darkest places. The Catholic Church was revealed to be responsible for the molestation of children (primarily boys) for nearly 60 years. No one except high-ranking leaders, such as Cardinal Law knew about it. How does the molestation of children go unnoticed for almost 60 years? No one could report it because no one found convincing evidence of it. Some people are afraid of hearing news such as pedophilia because it is a horrifying topic. Regardless of the disturbance, news must be reported to keep people informed. If people aren’t knowledgeable, then they will be ignorant to the problems in the world at large. Also, people may be able to help make a difference by protesting a situation and/or sue the people responsible for the crimes they’ve committed. Lastly, reporters can help prevent the destruction of more lives by simply putting the news out there and not waiting for instances to get worse. The story of the Spotlight news team pushed these things forward causing a massive movement against pedophilia and the Catholic Church.
The First Amendment grants us the freedom of assembly, which has been greatly used in this generation from Black Lives Matter to the Native Americans of the Dakota Pipeline. Assembly is a great way to get things done and to spread the word of atrocities that are happening. When Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were slain, the entire Black community nationwide, stood up and protested police departments and city halls demanding justice. Martin Luther was the first person to go against the Catholic Church. He wrote the 95 Theses in 1517 and showed people that faith, not money, will allow you to see the Kingdom of Heaven. Today, the Catholic Church is still under the microscope of pedophilia and there are people out there who are protesting it. Earlier this year, the LA Times reported that “20 protesters who rallied against sexual abuse in the Catholic church in downtown Los Angeles were joined by "Spotlight" actor Mark Ruffalo, the film's director Tom McCarthy and its writer Josh Singer on Sunday.” (Frank Shyong, 2016). Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is the group responsible for putting together the protest. Their role is to help people to not fall victim to pedophilia and to help the victims who have not said anything, to have a voice. This issue has become such a big deal since its exposure in the early 2000s that people no longer fear the topic as much. They go out and fight against it. Protests help spread the news and capture media attention. If the news isn’t spread, how can people around the country or even the world aid the cause? They can’t because they would be in the dark about it.
People who are ignorant of information are ignorant of the problems of in a nation. People can’t act if they aren’t informed. For example, many of the victims of the sexual abuse by Catholic priests were afraid to tell their parents what had taken place. Some told their parents later in life and some didn’t say anything at all. Therefore, it is harder for parents to act on the problems with their children if they don’t inform them about what’s going on in their lives. The same goes for the news media. If the news doesn’t inform, then the people can’t act. Father John Geoghan was the “top dog” in molesting children in this scandal. He ruined the lives of over 80 children (predominantly boys) and there was no information of it happening, not to the knowledge of the public. “Since the mid-1990s, more than 130 people have come forward with horrific childhood tales about how former priest John J. Geoghan allegedly fondled or raped them during a three-decade spree through a half-dozen Greater Boston parishes.” (Boston Globe Spotlight Team, 2002). Geoghan was murdered in prison by his inmate because of his arrogance of molesting kids. “Mr. Geoghan was "arrogant" and said he was worth far more than the millions that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston had paid to settle lawsuits involving his offenses.” (Associated Press, New York Times, 2006). He was also planning on “going to South America to work with children” (Associated Press, New York Times, 2006).
Cardinal Bernard Francis Law “turned a blind eye to sex abuse and placed the reputation of the Church above the pain of its victims” (Amanda Holpuch and Stephanie Kirchgaessener, The Guardian, 2015). The public records show that every time there was an instance of pedophilia, Cardinal Law would move the priests to another location and say they were on “sick leave”. Law didn’t want the reputation of the Church to be spat upon. In fact, he covered up the entire scandal for the Church’s reputation as well as his. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church had an influence on the world and for a scandal such as this to pop up would severely damage the Church’s status, it’s terrifying. So according to Law or those who think they are above others, he was right for covering it up because he doesn’t want that on his conscious. Even still, it would be on his mind because the numbers of children who were damaged were through the roof and 90 priests were on record for molestation in Boston alone. All because of the Boston Globe Investigations Journalists (Spotlight), there have been exposures of cases within the Catholic Church worldwide in nearly every country.
The most hated person in elementary school was the “tattle-tale” and from middle school on up the most hated person was the “snitch”. Nobody likes to be exposed and have light shone upon them for their wrongdoing. However, many people don’t realize that sometimes exposure can prevent further heinous acts from occurring. Instead of hiding and watching things get worse, there will always be one person who will speak up and say who was guilty of the crime. Mike Rezendes (played by Mark Ruffalo), the journalist who cracked the case of the Catholic Church was the one who pushed for the information to be put out in the public. In the film, he argued with editor, Robby Robinson about putting the Catholic Church on the spot immediately. Robby wanted to wait, but Mike was tired of being patient. Here’s what he said: “It’s time, Robby! It’s time! They knew and they let it happen to kids. It could’ve been you, it could’ve been me, it could’ve been any of us! […] We have to show people that no one can get away with this. Not a priest or a cardinal or a frickin’ pope!”(Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight, pg. 115). Rezendes showed urgency and that the story had to make the news on the spot. He realized that he could save more lives if he convinced his editor to publish the story immediately. If the story was published immediately, many children wouldn’t have to live in fear of being molested and question their lives. If the story was published abruptly, parents wouldn’t have to experience nightmares of their child being violated by their priests, pastors, or any religious leader. Therefore, when journalists receive news that could prevent the damage of more lives, they should report it without question.
Pedophilia is a demon that has claimed the lives of many innocent children. Many kids hide away the fact that they’ve been violated because they don’t want to relive it again. For someone to hurt a child so bad that their entire world crumbles to ruin, shows that they have no care for their innocence. For someone to know what’s happened and not say anything shows that they don’t care either. All that person wants to happen is to be left out of it because he/she doesn’t want to go into questioning. How can someone do that to a child? How can someone watch a little boy or girl suffer and not say anything? Imagine if someone withheld information from you about what your child is dealing with or even having someone close to you violate your child. That in itself would stir up an anger in you that you never knew existed. That’s why it is imperative to report news that could potentially save others. If no one reports, then no one investigates. If no one investigates, then the criminals continue to do what they do best: wreak havoc. Therefore, the job of the news is to promptly put the message out there about tragedies happening, so that people can act out and the innocent can remain innocent.
